Official History of the Conquest of Manila.
The Pith of the Official Reports of the Capture of Manila, by
Major-General Wesley Merritt, Commanding the Philippine Expedition;
General Frank V. Greene, General Arthur McArthur, and General
Thomas Anderson, With the Articles of Capitulation, Showing How
8,000 Americans Carried an Intrenched City With a Garrison of 13,000
Spaniards, and Kept Out 14,000 Insurgents—The Difficulties of American
Generals With Philippine Troops.
One of the most interesting events in the records of the fall of cities, that carried with them decisive factors affecting nations, is that of the conquest of Manila, by the army and navy of the United States in the memorable year of 1898. The victory of Admiral George Dewey May 1st, in the bay of Manila, nigh Cavite, has been celebrated in every clime and in all languages, and the great story if related in this book as one of universal fame, and given in outline and also in pen pictures meant to show the local coloring, and these are incidents most illustrative that are not familiar. The names of the ships and the officers of the victorious fleet, and the force of the contending squadrons in men and guns are herewith presented as an indisputable record.
Admiral Dewey held on to his command of the bay and city of Manila, braving all dangers—and they were many—and as fast as the army could be organized and equipped, reinforcements were forwarded. General Wesley Merritt was appointed the Commander in Chief of the expedition to the Philippines, and arrived at Cavite, July 25th. The official history of the operations that forced the surrender of the old Spanish capital in the East Indies has not received the public attention its unusual and instructive character demands, because the reports were not received in the States and given to the public until the Paris peace commission was assembling, and this singularly suggestive detail has been almost neglected. It is here for the first time consecutively arranged, annotated and adjusted, so as to tell the whole story. The part played by the insurgents is one that has not been stated by authority and with precision combining narrative form with the internal evidence of authenticity.
The first expeditionary force of the United States to arrive was that of General Thomas Anderson, on June 30, sixty days after Dewey's victory. The second expeditionary force, under General Frank V. Greene, arrived July 17, and the third, under General McArthur, July 30th, five days later than General Merritt, who found Rear Admiral George Dewey's war ships "anchored in line off Cavite, and just outside of the transports and supply vessels engaged in the military service." He was "in full control of the navigation of the bay, and his vessels passed and repassed within range of the water batteries of the town of Manila without drawing the fire of the enemy." This immunity of protected cruisers from the fire of nine-inch Krupp guns with an abundance of ammunition that was, and some that was not serviceable, was due to the terrible prestige of the American Admiral and the consequent power of his word that if fired upon he would destroy the city. Anderson's Americans were, General Merritt reports, disposed as follows:
The Second Oregon, detachments of California Heavy Artillery, Twenty-third Infantry, and Fourteenth Infantry occupied the town of Cavite; while Brigadier General F.V. Greene, United States Volunteers, was encamped with his brigade, consisting of the Eighteenth Infantry, Third United States Artillery, Company A, Engineer Battalion, First Colorado, First California, First Nebraska, Tenth Pennsylvania, and Batteries A and B of the Utah Artillery, along the line of the bay shore near the village of Paranaque, about five miles by water and twenty-five miles by the roads from Cavite.
The Major General commanding visited General Greene's camp and made a reconnaissance of the position held by the Spanish, and also the opposing lines of the insurgent forces, finding General Greene's command encamped on a strip of sandy land running parallel to the shore of the bay and not far distant from the beach, but owing to the great difficulties of landing supplies "the greater portion of the force had shelter tents only, and were suffering many discomforts, the camp being in a low, flat place, without shelter from the heat of the tropical sun or adequate protection during the terrific downpours of rain so frequent at this season." The General commanding was at once struck "by the exemplary spirit of patient, even cheerful, endurance shown by the officers and men under such circumstances, and this feeling of admiration for the manner in which the American soldier, volunteer and regular alike, accept the necessary hardships of the work they have undertaken to do, has grown and increased with every phase of the difficult and trying campaign which the troops of the Philippine expedition have brought to such a brilliant and successful conclusion."
The left or north flanks of General Green's camp extended to a point on the "Calle Real," about 3,200 yards from the outer line of Spanish defenses of the city of Manila. This Spanish line began at the powder magazine, or old fort San Antonio, within a hundred yards of the beach and just south of the Malate suburb of Manila, and stretched away to the Spanish left in more or less detached works, eastward, through swamps and rice fields, covering all the avenues of approach to the town and encircling the city completely."
General Merritt defines with firmness and perspicuity his position regarding the Filipinos in these terms:
"The Filipinos, or insurgent forces at war with Spain, had, prior to the arrival of the American land forces, been waging desultory warfare with the Spaniards for several months, and were at the time of my arrival in considerable force, variously estimated and never accurately ascertained, but probably not far from 12,000 men. These troops, well supplied with small arms, with plenty of ammunition and several field guns, had obtained positions of investment opposite to the Spanish line of detached works throughout their entire extent; and on the particular road called the "Calle Real," passing along the front of General Greene's brigade camp and running through Malate to Manila, the insurgents had established an earthwork or trench within 800 yards of the powder-magazine fort. They also occupied as well the road to the right, leading from the village of Passay, and the approach by the beach was also in their possession. This anomalous state of affairs, namely, having a line of quasi-hostile native troops between our forces and the Spanish position, was, of course, very objectionable, but it was difficult to deal with, owing to the peculiar condition of our relations with the insurgents, which may be briefly stated as follows: